Zoe Barbero Menzel ~ Central Vermont Career Center Dual Enrollment - Medical Professions

Making the decision to attend the Central Vermont Career Center was the best choice of my high school career. I always knew for a career I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know yet in what capacity. In the Medical Professions class, I learned a large variety of skills that will forever aid me in my future endeavors. I was taught to perform venipuncture, which has since become a possible career path, how to perform injections subcutaneously and intra-muscularly, and how to perform CPR, as just a few examples. I also learned for the first time that learning doesn’t always have to be hard, when it’s something you truly care about, you will want to learn about it! It also helps having an amazing teacher who understands and supports you and your different styles of learning. I left CVCC as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant with extra credits from participating in two dual enrollment courses, as well as BLS/CPR training, and OSHA certification. While I participated in this class I had an invigorating experience learning about venipuncture and different body processes that may affect the outcome of this procedure. Since graduating in 2022 I have had the honor of working in two different healthcare settings for the CVMC Hospital. In my first year and a half as a new graduate I worked as a Medical Assistant, drawing blood, giving vaccines, taking people’s vitals, and many other important tasks throughout the doctor’s office. I loved the work there but I knew it was not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, one thing I did know though is that drawing blood was something I felt I was developing a true talent for. I would constantly have patients report that they could hardly feel the blood draw and the experience was a much more positive one than in their past. Of course, everyone’s experience will always differ as the body and pain tolerance vary from person to person. One of the main reasons I chose healthcare is to hopefully give people a better experience as it is not something that comes easy for a lot of people. Healthcare has evolved so much over the years but it still has a long way to go. Currently I work at the main campus of CVMC Hospital as a Phlebotomist, meaning my main job is now almost exclusively drawing blood, with the possibility of other tasks at certain times. I also have had the experience of getting to work in the clinical lab and seeing a lot of the fascinating things they do while testing different blood and bodily tissues, it has opened my mind to the more scientific side of things and I never knew how much I would love working in lab science. This job has taught me an immense amount in the past year and counting and having both the outpatient and inpatient aspect of the hospital expands the horizon for different learning experiences. I cannot wait to see what this path has in store for me. I still have a long way to go in my career and I would hopefully love to pursue a possible nursing career as well, but at the moment I just feel extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the things I have so far. Being almost 21 years old and already having close to 3 years of healthcare experience is something I am very proud of myself for and will continue to build on as I grow. I feel so lucky to have been surrounded by all the mentors and teachers I had at both Montpelier High School and CVCC, I would not have this success without their continued support.